Doll house



T. G BEEBE DOLL HOUSE DeC. 30s

s Smets-shea.t l

Filed Aug. 13, 1923 Dec. 30; 1924' T. G. BEEBE DOLL HOUSE Filed Aug. 13, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 30, 1924. 1,521,420

T. G. BEL-:BE

DOLL HOUS E Filed Aug, 13, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Dec. 30, 1924."

IUNITED STATES A 1,521,420 PATENT oFFlcE.

THOMPSON G. IBEEBE, 0F HARBOR SPRINGS, MICHIGAN.

DOLL HOUSE.

, Application led August 13, 1923. Serial No. 657,009.

tain new and useful Improvements in Doll Houses, of which the following is a specification. Y

This invention relates to improvements in doll houses and has as one of its objects to provide a doll house which will afford more amusement and entertainment for the child using the same than would doll houses of the ordinary construction. Ordinarily, doll houses are constmicted with one side completely open and are usually only one room deep so that there is little resemblance to the actual building structure of which the dollhouse is intended to be a substantial model. Therefore, the present invention contemplates the provision of a dollhouse so constructed that it will in every way simulate the appearance of a full size building structure and will therefore seem, to the child, more realistic, the house being closed on all sides but one of the sides being so mounted that it may be moved outwardly from the remainder of the structure so as to permit of access being gained to the interior of the house; Another object of the invention is to provide a novel means for supportingthe said wall of the house so that when it is displaced by moving it outwardly` it will still-be supported in upright position and may either be completely separated from the remainder of the structure or permitted to remain assembled therewith but in the displaced relation.

Another object of 1the invention is to so construct the house that it may be built two or more rooms deep and yet permit of access being gained to the rooms selectively upon displacement of the front or other wall of the house.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a doll house embodying the invention, the displaceable wall of the house being shown displaced with relation to the remainder of the structure; A l

Figure 2 is a horizont-al sectional view in a plane substantially immediately above the lower floor of the house;

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the Structure with the front wall displaced and removed;

Figure 4 is a detail vertical sectional view illustrating the means provided for normally holding the displaceable wall in place.

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 5--5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a side elevation illustrating the construction 'of the stairs of the house.

The house embodying the invention comprises side walls which are indicated in gen-l eral by the numeral 1, a back wall 2, a front wall 3, and a roof 4 which may be of the gable type illustrated in the drawings or of any other type found desirable.

The ground floor of the house is indicated in general by the numeral 5 and this Hoor is supported upon side -sills 6 which extend longitudinally beneath the side walls 1 of the house, a front cross sill 7 which extends transversely of the house in a plane immediately in rear of the plane of the front wall 3 when the said wall '3 is in place as shown in Figure 2, a rear sill 8 which extends transversely of the house substantially in a plane with the rear wall 2, and an intermediate longitudinal sill 9 which extends parallel to and between the sills 6". It will be observed that the sills 6 and the member 9 ter minate at their rear ends substantially at the end of the rear cross sill 8, but that at their forward ends they are extended considerably beyond the front sills 7. For a purpose to be presently explained, the sills 6 are formed in their upper sides at their forward portion with longitudinally extending channels indicated by the numeral 10. The nfumeral 11 indicates flooring which may be of heavy car'd board, thin wood, or any other material, which is laid upon and secured to the upper sides of the sills comprising the assemblage just described, and this flooring extends over the upper sides of the channels 10 in the sills 6 except for the projecting forward portion 12 of the said sills.

Thefront wall 3 of the house is formed as a unit separate from the remainder of the structure and as illustrated in the drawings, comprises a sheet 13 0f any suitable material, such as straw board, thin wood, or the like, bounded by a frame -14 which may be of any construction and preferably made up for example from wood strips. The nu mei-a1 15 indicates in general a porch structure which is arranged upon the front of the wall 13 and comprises a porch floor .16 to the under side of which at the forward edge of substantially the' same thickness as the sills 6 and 9. Slide bars 18 are likewise secured to the under side of the porch floor 16 and extend rearwardly beyond the said Hoor and beyond the plane of the wall 13, their extended portions being indicated by the numeral 19 and being slidably fitted in the channels 1Q in the sills 6. Tle porch floor 16, intermediate of its ends, rests slidably upon the extension of the sills 9 when Athe front wall unit 3 is in place closin the 3 in front of the remainder of the structure and engaging the slides 18 in the channels `10, the said front wall unit may be moved bodily rearwardly until 'itcloses the front of the house structure, the rearward extensions 19 of the slides 18 passing within the channels 10 beneath the flooring 11 and being thus securely retained in a manner to prevent forward tilting or overturning of the front wall unit. In fact, it will be evident that when the front wall unit is slid .rearwardly to the position stated, it will be supported in an upright position in a most secure manner. The open front of the house structure is bounded at its sides by upriglits 20 and at its top by a cross piece 21, an'l the said uprights and cross pieces are rabbeted in their forward faces as indicated respectively by the numerals 22 and 23 so that the relatively thin boundary frame 14 for the front wall 13 may seat substantially flushl in the/rabbets thereby insuring of the front wall unit being more firmly and securely held against displacement. In order that the front wall 'unit may be held in position closing the open front of the house structure, a latch member 24 is pivoted at one end as at 25 to the cross piece 21 at a point intermediate its ends and .this latch member is adapted to be swung downwardly from the full line position shown in Fig. 1 to the dotted line position shown in said figure, and thereby engage in front of the top member of the frame 14 so as to prevent the wall section 3 from being drawn forwardly through` accident. Of course, by swinging the latch member 24 upwardly to the full line position vshown in Figure l, the front wall unit'3 may be bodily slid forwardly and even 'entirely separated from the remainder of thestructure, so as to permit of access to the interior of the said structure.

Pillars 26 are provided at 4the forward corners of the porch floor 16 and upstand therefrom, and other pillars 27 are arranged in upright positionupon the said floor above the sill 17 and between the pillars 26. Railings 28 extend between the pillars 27 and the respective pillars 26, and otherl railings 29 extend between the pillars 26 and the respective side members of the frame 14. At

articles of toy` furniture may be arranged upon the loorof the porch. There is built into the wall 13 above the floor of the lower porch, al simulation of a door indicated by the numeral 33 and 4preferably embodying a glass pane 34. Likewise there are built into the said wall at one or both sides of the door 33, simulations .of windows indicated by the numeral 35. Similarly, a simulation of a door 36 is built into thev wall 13 above the roof of the porch, or, in other words, in that port-ion of the wall 13 which extends in rear of the upper porch, and simulations of windows 37 are likewise built into this portion of the wall, all preferably embodying glass panes.

Figure 5 of the drawings illustrates a novel manner in which simulations of the windows and doors may be produced, this ligure being, for example, a section on the line.55 of Figure 1. The window structure shown in Figure 5 comprises outer and inner frames indicated respectively bythe numerals 38 and 39, each of these frames comprising uprights and cross pieces, and the uprights and cross pieces of the frame 38 are rabbeted in their rear faces as indicated by the numeral 40 so as to acc0mmodate the portion of the wall 13 which surrounds and defines a rectangular opening 41 formed in said wall. A pane of glass, indicated by the numeral 42, is arranged within the opening 41 and rests at its margin against that portion of the frame 38 which fits into the opening 41. The frame 39 is constructed of flat form and is secured to the inner face of the wall 13 in the same manner that the frame 38 is secured to the outer face of said wall, and the inner margin of the frame 39 overlaps the margin of the pane 42 so that the pane is in this manner held in place. y

Simulations of doors 43 and windows 44 are built into the side and rear walls of the house, and trellises 45 may be built up from strips of wood upon the exterior sur` faces of one or more wallsv to enhance the attractiveness of the house.

Tithin the yhouse structure and dividingv the same into upper and lower stories, is an l upper floor indicated by the numeral 46. A stairway 47 leads from the lower floor 11 to a landing 48 below the upper floor 46, and a lstairway 49 leads from the landing 48 to the upper floor 46. Partition walls 50 and 51 serve to respectively divide the lowerv is a wholly arbitrary one and may be varied to suit the manufacturer and the trade.

By displacing the front wall 3, access may be-readily had to the interior of the structure for the purpose of arranging the furniture therein, and it will be understood that if desired the rear wall or. either of the side walls might be mounted for displacement instead of the front wall, although it is preferable to have the last mentioned wall displaceable in view of the fact thatthe supporting sills must extend beyond the structure proper and, in the illustrated embodiment, these sills are normally covered and concealed by the porch floor.

The stairway 47 above referred to is preferably constructed in the simple and inexpensive manner illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawings, inwhich figure the numeral 52 indicates the stringers of the stairway, or if desired a piece of board, upon the upper side of which are disposed and secured in place a series of step members indicated by the numeral 53. Each of these members preferably comprises a strip or block of wood cut to the shape shown in the said ligure, and the blocks are disposed lwith their lower inclined sides resting upon the stringers or boards 52,`and secured in place by nails or otherwise and with the relatively high ,forward side of each block abutting the relatively shallow rear side of the block next below it.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A doll house having an open side, and

' a wall slidably supported for movement dircctly toward and directly away from the house and therefore into and out of position closing the said side, whereby to provide for access to the interior of the house.`

2. A doll house comprising a walled structure having an open side, supporting and guiding members extending beyond the said open side of thestructure, and a wall supported upon and guided by the said lnembers and movable thereon directly toward and directly away from the house and therefore into and out of position closing the said side of the structure.

3. A doll house comprising a walled structure having an open side, supporting and guiding members extending beyond the said open sidev of the structure, and a wall supported upon and guided by the said mem- .bers and movable thereon into and out of position closing the said side of thestructure, the said wall having an extended part to overlie the supporting and guiding members when the wall is in position closing the open side of the structure.

4. A doll house comprising a walled structure having an open side, supporting and guiding members extendin beyond the open side of the structure, a wa l supported upon and guided by said members, and a porch supported upon the outer side of said wall and overlying and supported upon the said members in the closed position o f the- Wall.

5. A doll house comprising a walled vstructure having an open side, sills located at opposite sides ofy the said' structure at the bottom thereof and having portions extended beyond the open side of the structure and provided with guiding channels, slides -slidably mounted in the said channels, and a wall,

supported upon the said slides and movable therewith into and out of position closing the open side of the structure.

6. A doll house comprising a walled structure having an open side, sills located at opposite sides of the said structure at the bottom thereof and having portions extended beyond the open side of the structure and provided with guiding channels, slides slidably mounted in the said channels, a wall supported upon the said slides and movable therewith into and out of position closing the open side of the structure, and a porch supported upon the outer side of the wall and, in the closed position of the wall, overlying and substantially concealing the said extended portions of the sills.

'7. A doll house comprisingI a walled structure having an openside, the said structure having a floor, sills extending beneath the floor at opposite sides of the structure and having extended portions projecting beyond the open side of the structure and provided in their upper sides with channels, the channels extending from the outer ends of the extended portions of the sills to a point inwardly of the open side of the structure and for a portion of their length being covered at their upper sides by the said floor, slides slidably mounted inv the channels, and a wall supported by the slides and movable therewith into and out of position closing the open side of the structure. Y

8. lA doll house comprising a walled structure having an open side, the said structure having a floor, sills extending beneath the floor at opposite sides of the structure and having extended portions projecting beyond the open lside of the structure and provided in their upper sides with channels, the channels extending from the `silleto a point inwardly of the open side of che structure and' for a portion 'of their length being covered at their upper sides by the said floor, slides slidably mounted in the channels, a'wall supported bythe slides and movable therewith .into and out-of position closing the open side of the structure, and a y porch upon the outer side of the said wall having a floor arranged to'overlie the pro- ]'ecting portions of thev sills in the closed position of the wall. v

9. A doll house comprising a walled structure having an open side and a floor,

y tending forwardly from the wall and sup` sills extending beneath the ioor at opposite sides thereof and projecting beyond the open Side of the structure, the sills being formed in their projecting portions an their portions inwardly of their projecting portions with channels, a wall, slides supporting the Wall and slidably fitting the channels in the said sills, a porch floor exported by the said slides, and a sill extendlng longitudinally of the forward side of' the open front of the structure, the said wall being designed to seat marginally inthe rabbets in the walls of the structure.

11. A doll house comprising a walled structure open at one side and having its wall at its said side rabbeted, sills extending forwardl beyondthe open side of the structure an havin channels, slides slidably fitting in the c annels in the sills, a wall supported upon the slides and movable therewith into and out of position closing the open front of the structure, the said wall being designed to seat marginally in the rabbets in the walls of the structure, and a latch member upon the open side of the structure engageable with the said wall to retain the wall 1n closed position.

12. A stalrway structure for doll houses comprising an inclined foundation member,

and a series'of step members comprising solid wooden blocks having flat upper sides and inclined under sides, relatively high forward sides and shallow rear sldes located in parallel planes, the blocks being disposed transversely upon the upper side of the support in a series and secured thereto, the forward side of each block abuttin the relatively shallow` rear side of` the lock next below it.

ture.

THOMPSON G. BEEBE. [L 5.]

In testimony whereof I aix my signa- 

